Geraniums in bloom

Big Geraniums play Quarter Beer and swing some hips

We imported the British band the Big Geraniums this week for Quarter Beer Night as they toured in support of their second album "Girls on Sheep."

Some people went into the show with a negative attitude, commenting, "I guess I can deal with a band playing, but jeez I hope they're not too loud, maybe they can serve as background noise as I drink beers."

But people really got into them; they were a likable pop band with a mainstream tight feel, and a sound that has produced some top 40 singles in Switzerland. Although people have a tendency to turn up their noses at chart-topping bands, chart presence is not always a negative thing; they rank above the alterna-cheez that has been served up lately.

When guitarist Jonas was asked to describe the band's musical sound he explained, "We are made up of different stuff put all together, so it is difficult to describe. Our main songwriters are very into old ska. Our lead singer likes Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits. Our lead guitarist likes Metallica. So, actually old ska is where everyone comes together. I guess I would say our sound is punk-ska-world music-folk-dancey."

That musical description sounds like hot ice or a tall-short person - mad contradictions in terms, or maybe it's just that mutt mixture rock that kids these days who buy the albums on the pop charts seem to dig so hard.

One can gather a bit of information about a band from its name. If a band was called The Vomit Cowboys, I would highly doubt that it was a folk band. Following this same course of logic, the name Big Geraniums heralds a happy pop band, with more weight on the punchy guitar side rather then on swirls of guitar angst.

When people start putting their beers down so they can swivel their hips or jump around or whatever else Oberlin kids do to dance, that indicates the frenzied dancey sound of a lot of their songs. Three out of six band members sing, each in a different style ranging from MTV-esque pop, nasal Toy Dolls-sounding fun, or Soul Coughing poetic drawl. A lot of their tunes modulate forms - they start with, for example, an old roots reggae sound, by mid-song they blare guitars, or they start folksy and then just intensify. One tune had that new school hippie groove that you can find in H.O.R.D.E. festival bands - possibly a touch of Black Crowes rock and roll.

Besides the obvious audience appreciation of this band, here are some other reasons for a favorable review: they played a cover of the Maytals song "Monkey Man" for an encore, guitarist Jonas slags the band Oasis saying that "they are the most miserable bastards, and [he] cannot see where their appeal lies," and also the chemistry between the band members shone through - they joked and played off of each other very well.

A good time. As Jonas says, "Everyone likes Big Geraniums although not everyone knows it yet." Well, maybe.

Mad contradictions: the band Big Geraniums played the 'Sco Tuesday to the quarter-beer drinking crowd.